Game apparatus



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0. N. KYLE.

GAME APPARATUS.

No. 363,146 Patented-May 17, 1887.

FIG a CWM (No Model.) ZSheets-Sheet 2. 0. N. KYLE.

GAME APPARATUS.

No. 363,146 'Pa tented May 17, 1887.-

. I I K\ g y r Wm W N. PETERS. Phciolilhogmphor. Washington. 0.6,

l STATES arnnr FFICE.

GAME APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 363,146, dated May 1'7, 1887. Application filed November 8, 1886. Serial 3111218285. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known thatll, OSCAR N. KYLE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Florence, in the county of Hampshire and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Game Apparatus, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to-the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to a game apparatus by which a game termed The Benedictine Monks Puzzle can be conveniently played, the said puzzle being traditionally very old, according to the following legend purporting to explain its origin.

In the middle of the tenth century there existed in an obscure town in Germany aschool attended by fifteen young ladies, established under the auspices of the Benedictine monks. It was a rule of the institution that the pnpils should exercise by walking through the spacious grounds one hour each day, and, to avoid too great an intimacy between them, the good Father Glairo, to whom the mistress referred all questions of importance, arranged that they should walk in five rows with three in a row, the order of arrangement of the young ladies being so changed each day that no two of them should appear in the same row oftener than once a week.

My invention therefore consists in a gameboard having seven divisions, representing the days of the week, each of the saiddivisions having fifteen differently-distinguished movable devices arranged in five rows, with three in a row, the said devices being interchangeable as to their positions, so that the player may conveniently move them about to secure the desired arrangement.

In the drawings, Figure I is a plan view of a game-board constructed accordingto my.

invention. Fig. II is asectional View of the same. Figs. III and IV are sectional views illustrating different forms of my invention.

A denotes a game-board made, in the present instance, in the form of a box, which may have an ordinary sliding cover to protect or hide the movable devices B, which are to be changed about in playing the game. The

board A has seven divisions, 0, representing the days of the week. Each of the said divisions of the said board has fifteen recesses, a, arranged in five rows, with three in a row, said recesses, in the form of my invention shown in Figs. I, II, and III, being merely circular holes for the reception of the stems b of disks or circular blocks B, constituting the movable devices representing the persons referred to in the foregoing legend. Each of the movable devices or blocks B is distinguished from the others either by its shape, color, or by a name or character marked thereon. In the drawings I have shown these devices as having different letters by which they are distinguished; but instead of the letters they may have figures or names.

To facilitate the moving of the devices B they may be provided with small stems or handles 1), convenient to be grasped by the thumb and finger of the player, as shown in Fig. III; or, instead of using the blocks B for the movable devices to represent the persons of the game, I may use small spheres or marbles B, retained in place by concave recesses a in the game-board; or the game may be played by movable devices merely resting on the surface of the game-board Without departing from the essential features of my invention.

In commencing the game the devices B or B are of course in a different order from that required for the solution of the puzzle, and the player moves them about until they are arranged in the order denoted by the legend.

I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. A game-board having seven divisions, combined with fifteen movable devices for each of the said divisions, said movable devices bcing distinguishable from each other, substantially as set forth.

2. A game-board having seven divisions, each of which is provided with fifteen recesses arranged in live rows, with three in a row, combined with fifteen movable devices for each of the said divisions, said devices being adapted to be retained in place by the said recesses, and being provided with distinguishable names or characters, substantially as set In testimony whereof I affix my signature in forth. presence of two witnesses.

3. The game-board A, having seven divisio'ns,0, each provided with fifteen recesses, a, OSCAR N. KYLE. [L. s.] 5 arranged in five rows, with three in each row,

combined with the movable disks B, having \Vitnesses:

stems-b fitting said recesses, substantially as EDWARD L. KIRBY,

set forth. M. B. CARY. 

